LCC Inducts Six Local Heroes into College's
Veteran's Memorial
Ceremony honors veterans from the Civil War to the Korean War

LANSING 11/11/11 – During a solemn
ceremony today, Lansing Community College inducted six local military heroes
into its Veteran’s Memorial
located in the Fred Abood Rotunda, Health and Human Services Building.

This is the second annual ceremony since the
interactive Memorial was unveiled last year. The Memorial
showcases the significant contributions of Michigan veterans
through the use of video storytelling.

Today’s inductees include a local doctor who
served in the Civil War, four veterans of World War II, and one
who served during the Korean War.

In his remarks to the veterans present, LCC
President Brent Knight, said, “This ceremony is one way Lansing
Community College can pay tribute to you and others in the years
to come. We are truly humbled by your presence today.”

Today’s inductees are:

Medal of Honor recipients:

·Francis C.
Flaherty, Charlotte – Ensign, U.S. Navy

Flaherty was born and raised in Charlotte and
attended the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he entered
the Navy as an Ensign in the Naval Reserve. He was stationed on
board the battleship, U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor when
Japanese forces attacked. He was trapped in a gun turret below
deck but managed to help several of his crewmates escape death
before losing his own life at age 22. Flaherty was the first of
only 13 Michigan men to be awarded the Medal of Honor during
World War II.

·George E.
Ranney, Lansing – Assistant Surgeon, 2nd Michigan
Cavalry

In 1864, during a Civil War battle at Resaca,
Georgia, Ranney risked his own life to pull a wounded Union
soldier to safety. After the war, he helped establish the
Michigan State Medical Society, and was the author of many
medical papers including one in 1874 showing that contaminated
water was the cause of typhoid fever. He died in 1915.

In October 1952, when he was 22, Skinner was a
forward artillery observer in a vital forward outpost in Korea
when it was attacked by the enemy. He continued the defense of
the position until his unit’s ammunition was exhausted and he
directed his men to feign death as the enemy overran the
position. When a grenade was thrown among the Marines, Skinner
threw himself on it to protect the others, losing his life.

Distinguished Service recipients:

·Eugene
Bleil, East Lansing – Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps

In April 1942, Bleil was serving in the Bataan
Peninsula, Philippines, when the Japanese Imperial Army
attacked, and forced 78,000 U.S. and Filipino forces to march 65
miles across the Peninsula to a prison camp. During what would
become known as the Bataan Death March, thousands were brutally
killed or died due to heat, exhaustion or malnutrition. Bleil
was imprisoned in two camps before being sent to Japan as a
slave laborer.He
was freed September 1945. Bleil came home and became an
anesthesiologist.

·Louis
Stamatakos, Okemos – Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps

Just 19, Stamatakos was the tail gunner on a
B-17 bomber over Kassel, Germany in February 1945. The plane
successfully released four of its six bombs to hit targets
below.The remaining
two bombs were stuck in shackles in the bomb bay and one was
live. Stamatakos risked his own safety to balance dangerously
over the open bay doors to free the bombs, saving everyone on
board. He became a Professor of Higher Education Administration
at Michigan State University and died in January 2011.

U.S. S. Indianapolis Special Tribute:

·Richard P.
Thelen, Lansing – Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy

Richard Thelen survived one of most horrifying
events of World War II – the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis
in the Pacific. The ship, with 1,196 crew, had just delivered
parts and enriched uranium for the atomic bomb that would be
later dropped on Hiroshima. It stopped at Guam to pick up crew
who had completed their tours of duty.Two days later in open sea, it was torpedoed by a
Japanese submarine. The damage was so severe, the ship sank in
12 minutes. 800 men made it into the water but few life rafts
were released.The
Navy command had no knowledge of the disaster until 4 days
later. By then, only 316 men survived, the others succumbing to
shark attacks, exposure, salt poisoning and thirst.Thelen was only 17 when he joined the Navy. After the
war, he became an independent truck driver.

A new feature was also
unveiled today -- a 10 foot by 4.5 foot picture of the U.S.S.
Indianapolis along with a list of all crew names on the wall
directly behind the Memorial.

Lansing Community College has been providing
educational opportunities to veterans since LCC opened its doors
in 1957. Today, some 500 veterans are enrolled as students. An
additional 220 active duty Army and Army National Guard
personnel are taking LCC courses online through GoArmyEd/eArmyU.
Students enlisted in other branches of military service are
taking online courses as regular LCC students.